Component Authoring is for authoring custom content for use with AutoDrop and content-based Design Accelerator Component Generators. Guided step-by-step prompts are provided to prepare components with iMates and properties necessary for efficient use as functionally smart content ready for publishing to the Content Center Library.
When authoring user parts you specify:
- Content Category
- Part placement (iMates)
- Parameter and iPart table mapping
- Category parameters
What part types are available for authoring and publishing?
All standard parts available for authoring and publishing:
- Bearings
- Bolts
- Clevis Pins
- Cotter Pins
- Retaining Rings (Circlips)
- Keys
- Nuts
- Washers
Prepare parts
On the Tools tab, Author panel, click Create iPart to prepare your parts for authoring and publishing to the Content Center Library. Each part that is transformed to an iPart Factory contains its own iPart Author table. Units of measurement for the part are set according to the selected standard. To view the Unit setting, select Tools tab 
Options panel Document Settings to access the Document Settings dialog box and click the Units tab.
When a user iPart is prepared:
- Use Parameter on the 3D Model tab to verify the model parameters and user parameters that are used in the iPart. We recommend that you use model equations to define the part parameters so that multiple part occurrences specified in the iPart Authoring table can dynamically update the proportions.
- Double-click table in the Model browser to open the iPart Author table. Verify all part occurrences that are defined for the iPart. Each row in the iPart Author table represents a part occurrence for the part family to publish to Content Center.
Guidelines for defining custom styles using iParts
After user iParts are authored and published to the Content Center Library, you can use them to create custom styles. For creating, authoring and publishing iParts, be aware of the following guidelines:
- Some style settings are defined while authoring and publishing parts to the Content Center Library, others are assigned as part properties. These properties include: Part material property, standard specification, and nominal sizes.
- If defining a style with a given nominal diameter, that nominal diameter must be in a row with your published iPart Author table to use that part.
Requirements for iPart Author table
The iPart Author table must contain a column for each parameter that must change to represent all the sizes of the part properly. For example, if the part contains threads, specify the columns for threads.